Specific features of nonlinear optical properties of Eu3+ doped BiFeO3 nanopowders near antiferromagnetic transition

• The photoinduced optical second harmonic generation for the Eu3+ doped BiFeO3 nanopowders which use two bicolor coherent laser beams incident under different angles gives some enhancement of the SHG.
• The photoinduced SHG may be used as sensitive tools for detection of multiferroelectricity.
• The nonlinear optical scattering processes play here principal role.

The monitoring of the Eu3+ doped BiFeO3 nanopowders was performed near the antiferromagnetic transformation by photoinduced optical second harmonic generation. As photoinduced laser beams we have used bicolor coherent excitations of the Er:glass laser emitting at 1540 nm with frequency repetition about 15 ns. The studies of the photoinduced SHG were performed versus temperature including the temperature range of ferromagnetic–ferroelectric transition (350 °C…390 °C). The optimal light polarization and intensity ratio were chosen; the sensitivity of the photoinduced SHG to the multiferroic phase transitions was explored.